The Expers: Escape To Survive v2
by themelodyintheriver
Summary: Spencer and Ashley are Expers, trying to save their family from certain death at the Compound. Can they ever truly escape its looming presence? Or will they be forever entombed in its dangerous walls? Spashley AU
1. Prologue: Burn In Hell

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Prologue: Burn In Hell**_

"I won't hurt you, now come with me."

I saw her anger bubble up until it hit her eyes. She glared at the man, using every ounce of fury she could convey.

But she wasn't glaring _at _him. She was glaring behind him, on the pile of explosives that was laying about. I knew what she planned to do, but there was no way I could stop her now, not when her eyes turn that color.

The man held out his hand, an evil smirk playing upon his face. I just looked at him for a moment, deciding that I couldn't really do anything to help at this point. I didn't have any energy left to do anything with. So I stared at him a few seconds more when I heard the inevitable.

_**BOOM**_

I looked over at her, a smile dancing in her black eyes. I couldn't help but grin myself. The man was startled as he was thrown about ten feet from where he was previously standing. He cursed loudly as he watched us run for the fence, toward our freedom.

They should've known they couldn't keep us locked up.

As we reached the fence, she glanced at me, enough to say with her eyes how spent she was right now. It took a lot of energy to do what she just did. But I was so proud of her. I looked back and saw the guards running for us.

I knew they were bound to hear that gigantic explosion.

With one that loud, who wouldn't?

Turning my attention back to the obstacle in front of us, I finally thought of what we could do. It was a fence.

Lets climb it.

I looked briefly at my partner and she gave a slight nod, saying she understood my plan. We climbed as fast as we could. The guards were only inches from us.

I guess…

I guess that's what happens when you can set things on fire, or use your mind to move things.

You see, we're not normal.

Far from it, actually.

We're the Expers.

And they're coming for us…


	2. Chapter One: I Can't Help But Wonder

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter One: I Can't Help But Wonder**_

Suddenly, I heard a small noise come from the darkness at our right. I was in a fighting stance, as was she, when someone sprang out from the bushes.

_Lily!_

I ran over and grabbed her arm, worried that something had happened to her.

"I'm okay. I have the others with me."

Looking behind her, I saw the rest of our little group. Daniel came out first, then I saw his twin brother, Craig. Or was Craig first, and Danny second? No matter, we had them both.

That's what counted at this point. After Craig (or possibly Danny) came out, so did Giz. I slowly counted heads.

Six.

That was everybody.

Time to go.

We ran as far as we could, before what speck of energy any of us had left us completely. I turned to Giz.

_Hungry?_

He smiled. I tossed him my last candy bar, and he ate it quickly. He closed his eyes and stood still. I knew what he was doing. He was calibrating his energy level. A few seconds later he opened them again.

Looking at me, he nodded.

I hurriedly grasped the nearest hands and yelled at everyone to get a hold on Giz. We were finally leaving this place. I looked around to make sure everybody was linked together. I nodded at Giz, and he shut his eyes one more time.

"STOP! COME BACK HERE!"

The guards were desperate, if they were yelling commands. They all knew we would never listen anyway. It was futile. We were getting out of here one way or another.

_Everyone, close your eyes. We're almost there._

I wasn't sure where "there" was exactly, but everybody obeyed and shut their eyes, scrunching their lids together to keep them that way.

Then, it was quiet.

All the sirens, all the screaming and shouting. All the shooting stopped. I slowly opened my eyes, always being the first one to do so, and took a look around. He had done it.

We were in the forest, and from what I could hear, not too far from a highway. I let everyone know that they could open their eyes, and they all did, one by one.

Then they started screaming.

Shocked by the sudden outburst of loud noise, I looked around in their heads to hear them all chanting one thing in unison.

_Free! Free! We're out of that place! We're free!_

I smiled lightly as I took in the scene.

My family.

Now, as I said before we are not normal at all. You see, we all have some sort of special power.

Let me explain.

Giz, our youngest, has the power to bend time, or transport large objects. Hence, us escaping that horrid place and ending up here. By bending time, I mean he can slow it down, speed it up, or stop it completely.

But it only works in short bursts. I think the longest he froze time was for about three minutes.

He uses these abilities through his skin. Actually, the skin on his arms to be precise. There is some sort of chemical mechanism that turns the skin on his fingertips, to the skin on his shoulder into a sort of touch-warp.

You touch him when he's calibrated, and you're going wherever he does.

Lily, our second youngest. She has the power of ice and water. In other words she can either freeze you to death as a human-sicle, or drown you.

Whichever she prefers.

And all she has to do is touch you. Its all embedded into her fingertips.

Danny and Craig, the twins. Danny has the power to control wind, and Craig has the power to control the weather. They also have this deadly combination attack, where they can meld their powers together to create a giant storm. Though, it takes up all of their energy in about five minutes.

My partner, Ashley, demonstrated her ability earlier at the Compound. She can set objects aflame using her eyes. She focuses all of her emotions, and stores the energy in the irises of her eyes, turning them black. If she focuses long, and hard enough she can set a three story building on fire.

A very handy ability if I do say so myself.

And finally, me, Spencer. I'm the unofficially appointed leader of our little ragtag family. I have the power of extra-sensory perception, or ESP, as well as a little telekinesis.

Oh, and I can't talk.

I was born without any vocal chords. But luckily, my ability allows me to convey what I want to say to everybody, through their brains.

I know, sounds weird, right?

But they like it better that way sometimes. Anyway, when I talk or when the hear me talk, I'm not actually speaking, because I can't, I'm actually just relaying my own thoughts into their minds. Works wonders when we need to thing of a last minute plan.

Anyway, that's the gist of our abilities. So I'm going to get on with our story.

As everybody danced around, I noticed that only one of them managed to steal a backpack. I walked over to Lily.

_Can I look in there?_

Lily glanced up at me.

"Look in what, Spencer?"

Everybody stopped moving and shouting to look over at Lily. Then they saw me, and went back to their rejoicing. They knew that I was talking to her, I just can't do it out loud like they can.

"The backpack, Lil."

Ashley walked over and stood next to me, grabbing my hand. Lily smiled and handed Ashley the pack, and ran over to play with the others.

_Thanks, Ash._

She gave me a quick peck on the lips and then went to join Lily, Danny, Craig, and Giz in their jumping about.

That was one of the reason why we were imprisoned at the Compound.

Too many defects.


	3. Chapter Two: Potentially Problematic

_**A/N:**__** Okay guys, y'all are killin me here with the lack of reviews! Help me out!**_ **_I won't know what you think of it unless you decide to tell me!_**

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

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_**Chapter Two: Potentially Problematic**_

Each of us has a trait or disability that classified us as failed experiments in the eyes of those who worked on us at the Compound. I have two.

One, I can't talk. Major vocal chord damage, I'll explain later.

And two, I fell in love.

With a girl.

And that would also be one of Ashley's disabilities. She has three.

Her other ones, you ask?

She doesn't have pupils. In her eyes, I mean. Its not a large defect, or even one that causes disability. She can see fairly well, especially at night.

That was one of the abilities they overlooked. She can see in the dark, better than she can see in the light.

But I guess the people who wanted to use us, wanted us to look like normal human beings. And she didn't.

Her other disability is very dangerous for her, but I'll get to that later.

Anyway, the rest of them have only one disability. But they were bad enough for all of the people at the Compound to want to kill us. But, again, that's another story for another time. I'm too tired, and its too painful to recall right now.

But you'll hear of them eventually. I don't have the time to explain everything right now. I need to get us some food.

_Lily, what is this?_

Lily came back over to me as I held up a medium sized black square from the pack she had given me.

"It's a first aid kit, Spencer. I stole it."

_Good idea, kiddo. What else you got in here?_

"Besides that? Nothing. That was all I could grab before I ran outside."

I smiled at her.

Sometimes, she acted like she was already grown up instead of acting like a normal thirteen year old.

_You did a great job getting everyone out of there. Yes I know it was you._

She blushed a deep red.

_I'm very proud of you, honey._

She gave me a smile. A real smile, not those forced ones she had been giving to me lately. I gave an equally huge one back.

After she gave me a hug, I called everyone over to me.

_Guys! Come here, we need to think of a plan._

Everyone shuffled closer to me, and bowed their heads as I linked our minds together.

Oh, yeah. That's another thing I can do. I can link together minds. In other words, I create a kind of tie between one mind and another. I've always been able to do it with these guys, but I've never really tried it on anyone else.

_Okay, we need food._ I said.

I felt Ashley nod next to me.

_Well, I wandered off for a bit, just to see what was beyond those trees. There's a gas station just over the other side. _Ashley informed us.

_Okay, here's what we're going to do…_

I walked into the store first, followed closely by Ashley, and Giz. I put Craig in charge of watching his brother, and Lily while we were inside the gas station.

"Hello there."

I looked up at the counter to see an Indian man staring back at me.

"Need any help?"

Wow, this guy was unusually nice. Almost makes me feel bad for having to do this to him.

But we need to survive too.

I shook my head in the negative toward him, and he went back to counting change.

I looked over at Ash, and she already knew what to do. She walked over to a rack near the front door where the newspapers and magazines were. She stared intently at them, and a small flame sparked.

It was all she was able to do with her low energy, but it worked to our advantage.

"Fire!" she yelled.

The Indian man immediately ran over to see what was the matter.

This was our cue.

I ran behind the counter, using my telekinesis to pop open the register drawer, and grabbed as many twenties as I could, shoving them into my pocket. I slammed the drawer shut and ran over to Giz.

He had an open garbage bag sitting on the floor next to him as he threw random foods inside.

As he filled up the rest of the bag, I tied it shut, and threw him a Hershey's bar. He seemed to swallow it whole, and then he shut his eyes.

It would take him at least ten seconds to calibrate before he could transport the food outside.

So I began to count down in my head, relaying it to Ashley so she knew as well.

_Ten._

The man pushed Ashley out of the way.

_Nine._

_Eight._

He had a fire extinguisher now. Oh, shit.

_Seven._

_Six. _

_Five._

He aimed it in the direction of the rapidly rising flames. Ashley stood there, transfixed. _Please, move out of the way, Ash…_

_Four. _

_Three._

_Two._

He pulled the pin on the device and began spraying the papers. I saw Ashley fall almost immediately.

_One._

_Giz, now!_

Giz slapped one of his hands onto the bag, and it disappeared almost immediately. I glanced over in the direction of the store clerk. Ashley was sprawled across the floor, completely unconscious.

I looked at Giz.

_Grab Ash. I'll be out in a second. _

He nodded, and quickly moved to Ashley's position. The clerk was still spraying the papers, making sure to get every little piece that could potentially catch fire once more. I took a deep breath to calm my energy.

It was peaked, because of my worry for Ashley. I took three deep breaths, and managed to control my energy once more.

The clerk stopped spraying. He noticed that everyone was gone.

But then he started looking around.

His eyes landed on me.

_Ah crap…_

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_**So, if you guys want the next chapter, I wanna see at LEAST five reviews. I think y'all can at least manage that. And, yes, that does in fact mean that I'm holding chapter three hostage ;]**  
_


	4. Chapter Three: Seeing Black

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Three: Seeing Black**_

_Giz, now would be a fantastic time for you to come get me!_

I relayed the message, not sure if he would listen to it or not. I had to get out of here, and somehow I don't think this guy's gonna let me go very easily.

"Hey! Where'd those other kids go?"

He was still wielding the fire extinguisher as he asked me the question, and something weird happened.

I laughed.

I'm not exactly sure why, because let me tell you, this is not a situation you want to be in, especially if you're a 19 year old genetic mutant girl on the run from government officials.

Yeah. Not fun.

Welcome to my world.

Anyway, I laughed at this man. He stared. Than a loud crash erupted from the front of the store, and caught the managers attention. Giz took that opportunity to pop in, touch my neck, and pop us both out. I bet that guy is still spinning in circles, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

Giz managed to safely get both of us back into the woods, where the others had been waiting. The minute my head stopped spinning I ran over to where Ashley was laying on the ground.

She was alright, I knew because I had already peeked into her head seconds before I reached her. She was singing a song. Or rather, thinking of it seeing as she wasn't fit to sing it out loud yet.

You see, this is Ashley's other disability.

Fire extinguishers. Large amounts of water, like lakes or oceans. Basically anything that can put out a fire, can also put out Ash. It's her most defective trait, and the main reason the doctors at the Compound saw it fit to kill her.

What happened back there was a new one. Usually she can sense it before someone brings out an extinguisher. Another strange ability she possesses. She can smell the contents of anything, while its still in its container.

And it doesn't even have to be in front of her face.

But back there?

Yeah, that was really weird.

That never happened in her testing. They let me watch once. I'm not sure why, and I don't want to know. Those scientists and doctors were insane, and very deadly. They would put her in a room, with nothing in it but three white square containers.

They'd tell her to pick out which one had the water in it, or which one had the extinguisher fluid.

She always got it right. Every single time.

So this little incident was new to me. I have only seen what she's like afterward, when they first started to test her. She got it wrong sometimes, because she would second guess herself and end up picking the wrong box.

The bad box.

Then they'd punish her, and put her back into the cell with me and the others.

That was how we lived.

But I'll get to the rest of that later. Right now, I need to do some poking around in her head.

_Hey you. Everything okay in there?_

_**Yeah, I'm okay. Didn't meant to scare you, love.**_

_What was that back there?_

_**I'm not sure. I smelled it, behind the counter before he even went to get it. But, for some reason, when he came out I froze.**_

_What do you mean, froze?_

_**I'm not sure. All I know, is that I couldn't see.**_

_Can you open your eyes right now?_

_**I don't know, but I'll give it a try.**_

As I left Ashley's mind I looked around our "campsite". I noticed some of the stolen food was opened already. Those guys get hungry, and let me tell you, with metabolisms like ours, whatever we do we gotta eat something right afterwards. It really helps especially if it has a lot of carbs and sugar.

Anything to boost our Energy.

I only looked around for a second, then turned my attention back to Ashley. Her eyes were open, but she was looking in every direction. Something was wrong.

_Hey, you okay?_

_**Are my eyes open?**_

_Yeah. Why?_

_**Shit.**_

_Wait, what do you mean 'shit'?_

_**They are open then?**_

_Yes! Why do you keep asking me that?_

_**Because…**_

_Because why? Tell me what's going on!_

"Because," I heard her say out loud, "I can't see a thing."


	5. Chapter Four: Waiting On One Look

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Four: Waiting On One Look**_

I waved my hand frantically in front of her face, but the blank look stayed in her eyes.

This was so_ not good._

_**What's happening, Spence?**_

_I'm not sure, love. I don't know, and that's what's making this so difficult for me. I don't know what's wrong, and I can't help._

Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought this. There was nothing I could do to help her. Would she be able to see again? Or would she stay blind for the rest of her life?

But as I contemplated, I got an idea, or rather, an explanation.

_How close?_

_**Huh?**_

_How close were you to those Extinguisher fumes?_

_**You saw. He was right next to me when he let it rip. I think that's why I fell so quickly. He just yanked the pin out and started spraying the junk everywhere. **_

_Okay, so here's a redundant question. Why didn't you move?_

_**Like I said, or thought rather, I don't know why I didn't move out of the way. I mean, I could smell the stuff from a mile away but my body wouldn't move.**_

_It's him. It's got to be. He must've been sent to capture us._

_**You mean—**_

_Yes. He's got to be near. We need to get everyone out of here. _

_**What about my eyes?**_

_Here…_

I opened the nearest pack of food, which ended up being a box of twinkies, and fed two of them to her. She ate quickly.

_**Mmm. My favorite. I feel better already!**_

_Great! Now, lets get the hell out of here!_

I helped Ashley off of the ground, and held her up.

"Everybody, Getcha!"

Getcha was code for Gather 'Round, which was also code for "Spencer's got something to say". It worked efficiently enough when we had enemies around. Particularly ones that really wanted to see us dead.

"Shut your eyes."

As Ashley whispered, everyone obeyed her command. I quickly shut my eyes, and tied our minds together.

_We need to leave, now._

**Why do we need to leave now? **

_**Because, Lily, Cauper is here somewhere. **_

**What is Cauper doing out here? How'd he find us?**

_**We don't know yet, Dan, but Spence says she can feel him.**_

_Yes, and he's close. We need to leave while we still have an open window. But don't act suspicious, just in case he's watching us. Giz?_

**Yeah? **

_Giz, I need you to do a quick scope out of the area, see if you can spot him anywhere. I'm giving you five minutes. If you're not back by then…well, you should be. _

**Got it. **

_Great. Thanks, buddy. _

_**Lily, Danny, and Craig?**_

**Yes? ** They all answered in unison.

_**Help me pack up the camp. Take only what we need, leave behind anything that's not necessary. We don't need any extra weight if we're going to be running or warping. We can't be any heavier, or Giz won't be able to take us anywhere.**_

**But we thought you couldn't see…**

_She's fine. It was Cauper that caused the blindness. He froze her in place so the Extinguisher fumes would seep into her eyes, hence the TEMPORARY blindness. She's okay now so get to it! We need to leave yesterday!_

**Aye aye, cap'n!**

_Ashley? It's been over fifteen minutes. A scope out shouldn't take this long!_

"Calm down, honey. I'm sure he's fine. Give him five more minutes. If he doesn't show then, we'll all go looking for him."

I nodded, and she gave me a tight hug. As she pulled back, her dark brown eyes had a hint of worry in them. She was just as scared as I was, but she was keeping her cool for me. Trying to stay strong for me.

God, I love her.

I thought about Giz, his five-foot-seven frame and his untidy black hair. He was only twelve. What was I thinking having him go out there by himself. For God's sake, he's only twelve!

I giggled for a moment. His age had never really been a factor for him. He always acted like he was older, and because of his height, people assumed he was. I'm only five-five, and Ash is five-six. It kind of goes in order if you think about it.

Though, the twins, at age 15, are both five-eleven.

The twins, you see, are actually Native American. I guess height just runs in their family, seeing as their dad was around six-three. Lily, and her long red hair and bright green eyes, is only five-three. But don't be mistaken, she could so take you on and in a heartbeat, you'd be on the ground begging for mercy.

Which, in retrospect, makes her really scary.

I don't want to be on her bad side. Ever.

You must think that telling the twins apart is hard. Its actually really easy, considering both look slightly different. Take, for example, their hair. Danny has his black hair at a buzz-cut level, whereas Craig keeps his long.

I think its down past his shoulder blades now, but I can't tell for sure seeing as he keeps it up in a ponytail all the time.

All the same, its easier to tell them apart that way.

Lily sticks out in a crowd…sort of. Her red hair makes her easy to see, but her height keeps her lower down than most people.

As for Giz, his Hispanic heritage shows through his facial features, as well as the very slight accent in his speech.

He keeps his black hair at normal boy level, as we call it.

Ashley's dark curly hair is three different colors. She has her natural dark brown on the top, with blonde hi-lights, and red underneath. It looks awesome.

And as for me, I've got semi-long blonde hair. Everyone says it fits with my deep blue eyes. But you know what? I think Ashley has amazing eyes, even without the pupils. The way the dark brown color just seems to sit in the middle of her irises makes them look deep.

Almost infinite.

You could get lost for days.

And I do.

Anyway, back on track here.

_Ash?_

"Yeah?"

_It's been more than five minutes…_

"Lily, Dan, and Craig! Get your butts over here now!"

I saw all of them run toward the two of us.

"Giz has been gone for over twenty minutes now. His recon should've only taken him five. Bow your head, and shut your eyes."

_Okay, our minds are tied, but I can only hold a mobile link for so long. We need to move quickly. I can only hold this for about fifteen minutes, so look meticulously. Call out his name as softly as you can. You know he'll hear you._

**Okay. We're on it.**

_Thanks, Craig. Get to it. Let's find Giz!_


	6. Chapter Five: Last Man Standing

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

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_**Chapter Five: Last Man Standing**_

_**Previously on The Expers:**_

_Giz, I need you to do a quick scope out of the area, see if you can spot him anywhere. I'm giving you five minutes. If you're not back by then…well, you should be. _

…_**...**_

_Ashley? It's been over fifteen minutes. A scope out shouldn't take this long!_

"_Calm down, honey. I'm sure he's fine. Give him five more minutes. If he doesn't show then, we'll all go looking for him."_

…_**...**_

_Ash?_

"_Yeah?"_

_It's been more than five minutes…_

_Keep in mind guys, Cauper is out here. _

_**But if you happen upon him, call me or Spencer as quickly as you can.**_

_Do not, under any circumstances, engage Cauper in any way! Okay?_

_**Aye Aye, Cap'n!**_

We all began to search the area that we last saw Giz, yelling his name quietly. With the exception of me. Though I compensated by screaming his name through our heads.

_Giz! Where are you! If you're near, let me hear you!_

I was getting desperate now.

_Giz, if you don't answer me, I'm going to think your name, your real name, as loud as I can!_

Nothing.

_Okay! Fine! I'm doing it!_

Silence.

_Gaaven Recker! Get your little ass over here!_

After waiting a few minutes for a response, I gave up and began calling his nickname once more. I was sure that would get a reaction. I knew Giz hated his real name, which was given to him by his adoptive parents.

We searched for him for another five minutes. Every minute that passed made me more and more anxious. I just wanted him back. Was that too much—

Suddenly I stopped.

I stopped moving. I stopped thinking, but only for an instant.

And not of my own accord.

"So, the little defect finally escaped from Home."

I knew that voice.

_Cauper!_

"Ah, so you do remember me. Good."

He walked around me so that he was standing in my line of sight. I saw that he hadn't changed since the last time I saw him. His tall six-foot-two frame stood tall as his chest puffed out. His buzzed blonde hair had grown about half an inch from his scalp.

But the most haunting and dangerous thing about him now looked even more intimidating.

His jet black eyes.

They stayed that way all the time.

And it wasn't just his irises, no. It was his entire eyeball that was black. All the way around, three-hundred-sixty degrees. And it was all his doing. During testing, he always over-exerted himself to prove that he wasn't weak.

Well, like Ashley, his powers rest in his eyes and are controlled by his emotions. After two years of trying so hard, his eyes stayed the color they turned when he was in a mood.

And there was another thing that I remembered from our testing together.

He hated me.

And that's why I could never beat him before.

I have never hated someone as much as he hates me. And its all because I was picked.

It was all because Ashley chose me.

_Where is Giz?_

"Oh, you Expers. Always worrying about one another."

That's what they called us at The Compound. Expers. It was a code name. It was the experimental group we had all been thrown in.

Experimental, because it was a testy word to use around The Compound, had become Expers, and that was what we were known by.

I was the first.

The first they kidnapped in order to begin the experiments and the testing. I was living in Ohio, that much I remember. But everything up until I was at The Compound is very hazy.

But I do remember that I was only eight years old when I was taken. I've been an Exper for eleven years, and every year after that they found one or two more to thrown in the mix.

First was me. Then they found Ashley next, and so on and so forth until they found the six of us.

The sixth one being Adamin 'Adam' Cauper.

_You forget that it wasn't too long ago that you were and Exper too, Adamin. _

His face turned momentarily red.

"Yes, but now I am no longer. I am an elite member of the Redgard. Something you could never in a million years hope to be."

_The Redgard? That's all? You've been slacking, haven't you?_

I knew taunting him wouldn't do me any good, but it was so _very_ fun.

"ENOUGH!"

He stomped up until his face was only inches from mine.

"I don't want to hear you think anymore."

_Well good luck with that buddy. _

The Redgard was an elite taskforce within The Compound that used us Expers to achieve their goals using whatever means necessary. Especially violence.

And, I think, when I smiled at him that might have been the muscle to pull the trigger because suddenly his hands were up and level with my head. They were gloved, of course.

Adamin has what they called Power Assimilation. By touching any of us, just for a second, he can temporarily absorb our powers.

Anyway, his hands slowly inched forward until the forefinger and middle fingers of both of his hands were touching my temples.

"Stop thinking, Exper."

Then, he pushed.

And my world suddenly went black…

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**okay guys, gimme some feedback here! y'all are killin me! I need to know what you guys think, otherwise how am I supposed to write the sequel?**


	7. Chapter Six: Headlock

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Song Used: "Weapon" by the Matthew Good Band**_

_**Chapter Six: Headlock**_

_**Previously:**_

_I think, when I smiled at him, that might have been the muscle to pull the trigger because suddenly his hands were up and level with my head. They were gloved, of course. Adamin has what they called Power Assimilation. By touching any of us, just for a second, he can temporarily absorb our powers. _

_Anyway, his hands slowly inched forward until the forefinger and middle fingers of both of his hands were touching my temples. _

"_Stop thinking, Exper."_

_Then, he pushed._

_And my world suddenly went black…_

_SHIT!_

I thought as loudly as I could when I felt a large, heavy hand bring me painfully out of my previous unconscious state. The sting only lasted seconds as my attention was quickly turned to my new atmosphere.

As soon as my vision began to clear, I took a clear look around the area.

I was in a brightly lit room, the walls painted a dark blue, with a gray symbol painted on the wall in front of me. It was a vertical 'Z' with a circle in the middle, and a horizontal line through the circle.

It was a symbol all of us Expers knew so very well.

It was the symbol of The Compound.

Were we back there? Already?

As I finished my 'recon', I was startled to find that other than me and Cauper, Ashley was in the room. Seated just to the left of me, fully conscious.

Cauper smiled as soon as he realized I had awoken from his brutal alarm, and pressed a button on the remote I hadn't noticed he was holding before.

Suddenly, a slow rhythm filled the room. I knew this song. It was one that Cauper always played during our free time. It was his favorite.

But why was he playing it now?

As the song continued to play, my mind began to catch up with its beats. Just when the singer's voice was supposed to begin, Cauper drowned him out.

"_Here by my side, an Angel…"_

He reached over and gently touched Ashley's face, and she turned it away with a look of disgust that radiated from her eyes. I could feel it from where I was sitting.

"_Here by my side, the Devil…"_

Cauper glared in my direction as he stomped up to my face. He seemed to like getting into my personal bubble. I was going to think this for him, but he started singing the song again.

"_Never turn your back on me, never turn your back on me again. Here by my side, its Heaven…"_

He directed his black eyes back to Ashley, who's iris-less dark brown ones glared back into their depths. She wasn't going to give him any chances or hopes.

"_Here by my side, you are destruction. Here by my side, a new color to paint the world…"_

As he sang this, he walked up to the symbol painted on the wall as he said that last part of the lyrics. He was about to continue, his back turned to us, when Ashley stood up next to me, untying the ropes that bound my wrists. I hadn't noticed those until now.

Ashley stole the next words from Cauper's rendition and sang them with so much anger.

"_Never turn your back on it. Never turn your back on it again. Here by my side…"_

Apparently there were more ropes around my ankles as well. I couldn't feel them.

What was going on?

Ashley pulled me out of the chair, where I promptly collapsed onto the ground, unable to feel my legs. She bent down and lifted me up so that I was now in a sort of piggy-back.

She leaned forward so that I wouldn't slide down, because I couldn't grip her neck. I couldn't feel anything. The only thing I seemed able to move were my head, and neck.

"_It's Heaven."_

As Ashley sang these words, Cauper spun around, the smile fading quickly from his face. He forgot that Ashley could burn through anything. And I mean, anything. She aimed her glare at the wall behind Adamin, and melted the horrid symbol that resided there. Then Cauper lunged for us and missed when Ashley suddenly streaked out of the door.

I could've sworn there was a padlock on that door a second ago. As I thought this, I turned my head as far as I could get it to see, on the floor, a puddle of molten metal.

She was pissed. Oh so very, very pissed.

It took us about an hour or so to locate the rest of the gang. We eventually found everyone, and thankfully nothing had been done to them. At least, nothing we could see.

Ashley was tired, I could tell. She had been setting random objects aflame to cause distractions so that we could get all of us out of there. And on top of that, she was still carrying me on her back.

I kept hearing her thoughts as we ran through the building, looking for the way out.

_**Just hold on, love. We're almost out. Just hold on for me.**_

_I'm okay, Ash. _

_**Alright, Spence. **_

I looked ahead of me where Danny, Craig, Lily, and (thank God) Giz were running. They were trying to find our way out of here. Giz had suggested a quick warp around to find it, but we told him that they might be able to track that kind of power flux in here.

It was what they did.

So we ruled that possible mission out and opted for running around as Ashley set random things on fire to distract anyone who had noticed us.

Craig had offered, as well as Danny, to carry me and give Ash a break. But each time they suggested it, she pulled me up, leaned forward and told them that she was perfectly fine.

But I knew better.

We needed to get out of here soon, before my girlfriend collapsed under me.

"There!"

Lily screamed while jabbing her finger at a door that was half visible, the other half hidden around a corner.

_On the count of three, tell them to run for that door as fast as they can. Tell Giz to stay back._

"Dan, Craig, and Lily" Ashley whispered when they had all finally stopped moving, "When I count to three, I want all of you to run for that door and as soon as you're out, keep running as far as you can. Don't stop until you can't breathe. When you do stop, find something distinguishable and think it as loud as you can."

"What about me, Ashley?"

Giz had whispered.

"You need to stay behind, my little man. You're going to help us get out of here. Does everybody understand our plan?"

"Aye, Aye, Cap'n!"

Ashley smiled, and positioned herself by pulling me up farther onto her back to lean closer to the others.

"One…"

Lily, Dan, and Craig positioned themselves to run. Giz strayed behind, grasping tightly onto mine and Ashley's hands.

"Two…"

Ashley pulled the three of us into a little crook in the wall, hiding us in the shadows.

"THREE!"

The three of them took off toward the door. We watched anxiously as Lily was the first to reach the handle. She pulled it down and yanked the door open, slamming it against the wall and allowing Danny and Craig to run right behind her.

It wouldn't take them long to get a few miles away from here.

It was another overlooked trait that was apparent in all of us.

We were slightly faster than most humans.

We could run five miles in three minutes.

Okay, so maybe we're a little more than slightly faster.

Anyway, about five minutes later I heard somebody scream inside my head and quickly linked the thought to Giz and Ashley so that we all heard it at once.

_**ROBERT AND GALLAWAY! ROBERT AND GALLAWAY!**_

_Street corner. _

Giz nodded and gripped our hands tightly and closed his eyes.

I looked around. The street was deserted. It was an intersection in a suburban neighborhood. But the thing was, this neighborhood was still being built. Nobody occupied the three houses that stood before us. As we looked around, there were only two skeletons of houses that hadn't been finished yet, but no construction workers in sight.

That's when I noticed that it was really, really dark outside.

_What time is it?_

"Half past one in the morning."

I nodded, my head still the only part of my body that I could feel. Then I realized why I couldn't move. It was Cauper. He must've done something when he pressed my temples to knock me out.

"If its anything like what he did to my eyes, than it should go away soon, love. Right now, we need shelter and some food."

Had I thought that out loud?

I thought I'd kept that little ponder in my personal brainwaves, but I guess I wasn't paying attention and they strayed into the bondwaves. I'll explain that one later, after I've eaten something.

_Lets just stay in one of these houses for now. We can find food once we're settled._

"Okay. That sounds good. Lets go guys!"

The gang looked up at her curiously. She forgot that they hadn't heard what I just thought.

"Spence says we're gonna just sleep in one of these houses tonight and we'll look for some food once we're comfortable. Got it?"

They all nodded, tired from our ordeal.

As we layed down to sleep, stuffed with the hot dogs that Giz stole from a supermarket, and Ashley had cooked by holding them over the sink using her lowest setting to heat them.

Let me tell you, Ashley glaring at a package of hot dogs is the funniest thing I think I've ever seen.

Anyway, we all settled down and began to drift off. Ashley had propped me up against her as she sat with her back against one of the living room walls. She said she wanted to keep a protective eye on the kids.

I think she's scared that it'll happen again. That one of us will get kidnapped.

But don't tell her I said that.

As I fell asleep with on Ash's chest and her arm around me to keep me from slipping onto the floor, only one thought stuck in my head.

Why had we gotten away so easily?


	8. Chapter Seven: Cracks In the Foundation

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

**Updated for my awesome reviewers: **_**julsola007, chleo-c-4.0, and taz12335. You guys are fantastic, and I'm continuing this story just for y'all. Hope you enjoy. Much love 3**_

* * *

_**Chapter Seven: Cracks In the Foundation**_

As I fell asleep with on Ash's chest and her arm around me to keep me from slipping onto the floor, only one thought stuck in my head.

Why had we gotten away so easily?

_**Because we let her. It had to be done.**_

My eyes shot open. The voice that I'd just heard sounded very familiar. I glanced around, happy to find that I could move myself once more. I slowly pushed myself off of Ashley's shoulder, stretching every muscle I could as I stood up.

Let me tell you, not being able to move for a long period of time makes a girl stiff.

I stood up and walked toward the front door. Pressing my ear to the painted wood, I wanted to make sure no one was standing outside before I opened the door. As I stepped outside, I found that it was still dark out. What time was it? Had it only been a couple of hours since we layed down?

"_Okay. That sounds good. Lets go guys!"_

I looked over to where I heard it. Ashley's voice. But she was asleep inside…right?

"_Spence says we're gonna just sleep in one of these houses tonight and we'll look for some food once we're comfortable. Got it?"_

That's when I saw them.

I mean us.

Whatever.

But hadn't this just happened?

_Hey guys, how did you get out here?_

They all kept walking toward the house. I don't think they heard me.

_HEY! What're you guys doing?_

As they approached the house, I noticed something. Ashley's shape looked weird in the darkness. What was going on?

She got closer, and I saw something that just made me even more confused than I already was.

I was with them.

On her back.

Ashley was still holding me on her back.

They all reached the house, not even seeing me standing there, and opened the front door. Had I closed it? I didn't remember closing that door.

_WHAT IS GOING ON!_

The world around me began to spin out of sight as I fell to the ground. I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving as I propped myself up on all fours with my palms spread out on the concrete in front of me.

Suddenly a sprout of grass appeared next to my thumb. I stretched my finger to feel it. I needed to see if it was real, because that wasn't there a second ago. I felt the crisp grass bend underneath my fingertip.

Then more grass appeared underneath my knee, then next to my shoes. It erupted from everywhere, covering every inch of concrete as it sprouted to consume the ground.

Trees suddenly shot up from the newly grown grass. These trees were not new by any means. They were old, old trees…and they looked really familiar.

"_So, the little defect finally escaped from Home."_

I saw myself glare at him, shock still showing on my face.

"_Ah, so you do remember me. Good."_

Wait? What the hell! What just happened? I'm still on all fours, facing the forest floor, my chest still heaving. I pushed myself upright and got a better look at my surroundings.

It was yesterday…or today…I'm not sure when it was, but I knew it had already happened.

"_Oh, you Expers. Always worrying about one another."_

I glared at him, and his face turned red. This had already happened! Somebody tell me what the hell is going on, right now!

"_Yes, but now I am no longer. I am an elite member of the Redgard. Something you could never in a million years hope to be."_

Another minute passed, and I saw the pissed look on Cauper's face turn into rage as he screamed at me. Or her. Again, whatever.

"_ENOUGH!"_

I watched as he stomped his way up to my face, placing his fingers on my temples.

"_I don't want to hear you think anymore."_

The rage, if possible, deepened on his face. Barely able to contain himself any longer, he said one last thing.

"_Stop thinking, Exper."_

And as before, my world went black…

_What's happening to me?_

_**She'll find out soon enough.**_

_Who are you? What are you doing to me?_

_**No more questions.**_

I felt myself hit the forest floor, unconsciousness finally taking over.


	9. Chapter Eight: Back Into Hell

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Eight: Back Into Hell**_

My eyes opened, and I quickly shut them again. It was so bright. Why was it so bright? Where am I?

I attempted opening them once more, doing it much more slowly this time so as not to destroy my irises. I found that I was still laying sideways, the way that I had fallen in the forest.

But I couldn't smell the dirt. I couldn't feel the grass.

Where was I now?

Out of nowhere, I heard a loud scream erupt from somewhere behind me. I used my right arm to push myself up onto all fours once again.

Regaining a fraction of my composure, I lifted myself up and faced the direction from where I heard the scream.

I looked to find myself facing a pure white wall, with a single door. Taking another glance around, I also found that I was in a small room with no windows and no other doors in sight.

I knew this place.

I think that's what made my pulse race even faster.

Especially when I pulled open the door.

As I stepped through, I found myself in an unfamiliar scene.

A scream ripped through the air, louder this time. I stared at the layout in front of me.

Ashley was on a metal autopsy slab, wires connected to various appendages that were covering her body. Her mouth opened and a look of agony surfaced on her face. It was then that it hit me.

Ashley's the one screaming.

They're torturing her!

"_ANSWER ME!"_

I looked to see someone in a lab coat standing next to a set of dials. The wires that were attached to Ashley's body were connected to these dials.

Oh my god.

He's electrocuting her!

_STOP!_

I yelled it in my head as loudly as I could, aiming it at this man. I couldn't see his face, his back was turned to me. And, like before, nobody heard a word I had thought.

"_I gave you an answer. It hasn't changed."_

Ashley, despite the red patches and lacerations that had appeared on her once smooth skin, said this very calmly as her chest heaved just like mine had been doing.

Another scream came, another repeated question, the same repeated answer. What did this man want to know?

"_Tell me! Tell me why!"_

His voice no longer held the anger it had only moments before, but now had a tinge of urgency. He was desperate for a real answer. Sweat dripped from Ashley's face, rolling down her cheeks and onto the metal table. I'm sure that's only making the shocks worse. Then again, being in The Compound makes everything worse.

Yes, that's where I was now.

Back into hell.

"_Because…"_

I hear Ashley start speaking again. She slowly, and painfully lifts her head from the slab to get a look at the man. She wanted to get her point across. Or set him on fire, I wasn't sure which. I highly doubt she had any energy left in her to do anything but talk.

"_Because, it wasn't meant for you. It was for her. And she owns it. And I'm not sorry."_

What was she talking about? I saw Ashley's head swivel slightly to her right. I followed her gaze.

_Oh my god…_

Now I understand why I don't remember this particular event.

I look over and see what Ashley sees. There I am, unconscious. There's a huge gash on my face, and I'm completely pale. I remember that moment.

Cauper got out of control and pulled my flesh apart with his eyes. Just by looking at me, he ripped that cut in my cheek which in turn caused me to faint from loss of blood.

"_WHY HER?"_

I saw the man's finger point at my unconscious body. A slow smile graced Ashley's lips as she closed her eyes, giving into the exhaustion. Before she let herself go, she whispered something to the man.

"_Because she owns my heart. I love her."_

A tiny laugh escaped from her mouth before she fell unconscious. The man took his rage out on the machine that was standing in front of him, tearing up his fists. He stopped for a moment to look at the damage he had just caused.

Then he turned to face me. Not the unconscious me on the slab.

Invisible me, standing here completely confounded.

He stepped closer, not stopping his long and angry strides. That's when I realized who he was. He looked a little different, his hair being longer, and color embedded in his irises and his voice had less gravel in it. He reached past me and yanked open the door, slamming it on his way out.

_Cauper…_

_**NO! Leave it alone! She's fine. She's stable, and we're not done yet.**_

_Hello? Can this stop, please? I don't think I can take much more…_

I slid to the floor, tears flowing down my cheeks and splashing onto the cold tile floor. I let a sob escape, and soon enough I couldn't stop myself from letting everything out. I never knew that this is what she went through.

All because of me.

More tears fell. I covered my eyes with my palms, effectively blocking out the light from overhead and lulling me into a haze.

I cried, and cried, and cried. Then I stopped. I had run out of tears. I rested my forehead on my knees, keeping my eyes closed so I wouldn't have to see her like that.

On that table.

I took three deep breaths and calmed myself as much as I could. My powers wouldn't do me any good at this point. I had no energy, no will left. I used the backs of my hands to wipe the remaining tears from my eyes and my cheeks.

As I opened them again, I realized I was in yet another location.

But this one was different, and the same all at once.

"_Spence says we're gonna just sleep in one of these houses tonight and we'll look for some food once we're comfortable. Got it?"_

I looked to see the house, the empty one standing alone.

"_Yes, but now I am no longer. I am an elite member of the Redgard. Something you could never in a million years hope to be."_

The house was now in the middle of the forest.

_What's going on?_

"_Because, it wasn't meant for you. It was for her. And she owns it. I'm sorry."_

I spun on my heels only to face the inside of the autopsy lab once again. It was sitting in the woods across from the house.

"_Okay. That sounds good. Lets go guys!"_

Why? Why could I hear them, but I could not see them? I kept turning in circles as everyone kept talking. I couldn't see a single person. Where were these disembodied voices coming from?

"_Spencer!"_

I'm so confused. Somebody…please stop this…

"_Spencer!"_

_I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! STOP IT!_

Dizzy and confused, I collapsed onto the ground only to watch it morph in front of my eyes. The grass slowly turned light blue, and stringy. I watched the grass turn into carpet and spread all around me walls slowly appeared.

A different house reconstructed itself out of thin air right in front of my eyes.

And as the last few pieces of furniture came into view, a tall blonde woman slowly appeared, very transparent at first, then becoming solid.

"_Spencer! I'm gonna find you!"_

She called this out in a playful manner. I saw her coming toward me, but she suddenly dropped to her knees, lifting up the table skirt. I heard a giggle come from underneath the table.

"_Mommy! No fair! You knew where I was!"_

The woman laughed as she gently pulled the girl out.

It's eerie, seeing yourself so young from another point of view other then the one you originally experienced it in.

Young Me giggled again as my mother swept me up in her arms.

"_Oh, sweetie. I always know where you are!"_

**Ding-Dong!**

I saw my mom give me a kiss on my forehead.

"_Go play in your room, Spencer. I'll be there in a minute, okay honey?"_

I nodded my little head, then ran down the hallway into what I assumed used to be my room. Instead of going to follow myself, I followed my mother to the door.

"_Paula. We meet once more."_

I saw my mother's eyes lose their kindness, and her jaw muscles tighten.

"_Theodahm. What in the hell do you want? I already told you, she's not going."_

Theodahm? Why did that name sound so familiar?

"_Paula, this is your last chance. Your little girl could become something extraordinary, if only you would give me the chance to help her."_

My mother scoffed, and shifted her position, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She did not like this Theodahm, whoever he was.

"_And after she reaches her potential? What then, Theo? You just get rid of her?"_

He bowed his head, shaking it slightly before looking up at my mother again.

I remember. I remember who he is now.

"_I'm so sorry to do this, Paula. But you've left me with no choice."_

My mother's eyes grew wide as a small dart suddenly appeared in her neck. She plucked it out staring at Theodahm in shock before falling to the floor.

How could I ever forget?

"_Get the little girl. Do not harm her, she is a precious experiment. Take out the father as well. We don't need any other complications today."_

How could I ever forget?

The man who kidnapped me.

The man who enslaved and tortured me for years.

The man who destroyed my life.

Adamin's own flesh and blood.

_Theodahm Cauper._

_My own personal Satan. _


	10. Chapter Nine: Don't Know

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Nine: Don't Know What's Worth Fighting For**_

**Previously:**

"_I'm so sorry to do this, Paula. But you've left me with no choice."_

My mother's eyes grew wide as a small dart suddenly appeared in her neck. She plucked it out staring at Theodahm in shock before falling to the floor.

How could I ever forget?

"_Get the little girl. Do not harm her, she is a precious experiment. Take out the father as well. We don't need any other complications today."_

How could I ever forget?

The man who kidnapped me.

The man who enslaved and tortured me for years.

The man who destroyed my life.

Adamin's own flesh and blood.

_Theodahm Cauper._

_My own personal Satan. _

I stared as Theodahm Cauper stole me from my home, instructing his men to fall in before him. I couldn't hear a word he was saying, because my ears were ringing so loudly.

I was angry.

I was angry, and sad, and furious, and every other emotion that you could possibly think of right then. But my fury stood out above the rest. How dare he take me from my home, from my family.

What kind of person does such a thing?

I spun around and ran out of the front door of my childhood home, attempting to catch up to Theodahm and his soldiers. It seemed, as I kept running, that I was getting nowhere.

Theodahm kept walking at a faster pace than me, no matter how hard I pushed, no matter how much purchase my shoes seemed to get from the concrete.

Stopping to breathe, I saw the elder Cauper disappear into the distance. I placed my hands on my knees, attempting to take back the oxygen that had been stolen from my lungs, which were now desperately trying to make up for the shortage.

As my eyes opened, I noticed the ground was green again. It was that mysterious grass.

My head snapped up.

I was in the forest again. Looking around, I saw the empty house, the open lab, and now my old house. I spun around again, trying to comprehend what I wasn't understanding. Why was this happening?

"_Spencer!"_

What?

"_Spencer, please, wake up!"_

Who is that? Who's there?

"_No! Leave her alone! SPENCER! WAKE UP! IT'S NOT REAL!"_

Ashley? Ashley! I can hear you! What's going on?

"_AHHHHH!"_

_**Sedate her. We don't need her screwing this up. **_

"_SPENCER!"_

I felt something sharp in my left arm. I lifted it to my eyes to see a small droplet of blood begin to trail down my forearm. It dripped into the grass, and I watched as the grass began to die.

It spread like a fire, consuming the entire forest. I could only watch as the trees wilted and fell unto the house, the lab, and the vacant home.

Everything was crushed.

The world in front of my eyes perished, and my eyelids began losing strength as they closed over my shocked pupils.

Swaying, I decided to sit down, but before I could do so, my knees gave up just as my eyelids did and I ended up face first in the dead grass.

What was going on?

Ashley? Are you still there?

Somebody, save us, please…

_**Elsewhere**_

**Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep…**

The steady noise kept the cold room from being completely silent. A man walked around the metal table that held a various assortment of dangerous instruments. A sad look covered his face as he gazed upon the wounds that covered the body in front of him.

They were killing her.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

The body behind him stirred, restlessly. He turned on his heel after throwing a worried look over his shoulder and left the room. What was he going to do? He couldn't leave them both there.

It had taken him this long to find her again, and there was no way he was leaving here without her.

Suddenly, a loud noise distracted him from his thoughts.

He ran back to the room he had only just exited, slamming the door open. He watched in amazement as a hand began to pull out wires and tubes that had been connected to the rest of their body.

She was supposed to be unconscious!

He wondered if her constant temperature had burned off whatever they had given her.

"Hello?"

Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice, staring at his face. He could tell she didn't trust him. Maybe it was because he was still wearing his white lab coat.

He shrugged it off of his shoulders, throwing it on a nearby countertop, and dared to take a step closer to her.

"My name is Aiden."

She sat for a moment and studied his face. He stood up straight, looking right back at her. Letting her know, that he wouldn't do anything to make her think he was dangerous to her. He was the exact opposite.

"Aiden?"

Her voice was soft, but raspy like she hadn't used it in a few days. He smiled, and the recognition in her eyes made tears form in his own. She knew him. She knew who he was. She remembered!

"Aiden!"

She jumped off of the metal table, ripping out the remaining chords that had still been attached to her. She ran to him and gave him the tightest hug she could with what strength she had.

He smiled as he stroked her hair, silently crying into her shoulder as she did the same into his neck.

"Hey, little sister. I finally found you. I told you I would. I promised."

She pulled her head from his shoulder to look into his eyes. He wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Is it really you, big brother?"

He pulled her close, kissing her forehead.

"Yes, Ashley. It's really me."

He finally found her.

And he was never letting her go again.


	11. Chapter Ten: So Hard For Me To Breathe

_**DISCLAIMER! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Ten: So Hard For Me To Breathe**_

_**Previously:**_

"_Spencer!"_

_What?_

"_Spencer, please, wake up!"_

_Who is that? Who's there?_

"_No! Leave her alone! SPENCER! WAKE UP! IT'S NOT REAL!"_

_Ashley? Ashley! I can hear you! What's going on?_

"_AHHHHH!"_

_**Sedate her. We don't need her screwing this up. **_

"_SPENCER!"_

"_Aiden!"_

…

"_Hey, little sister. I finally found you. I told you I would. I promised."_

_She pulled her head from his shoulder to look into his eyes. He wiped away her tears with his thumb._

"_Is it really you, big brother?"_

_He pulled her close, kissing her forehead._

"_Yes, Ashley. It's really me."_

_He finally found her. _

_And he was never letting go._

Ashley screamed as she heard the body that was still laying in the room move about on its own metal slab. As she turned to see what was causing the noise, Aiden pulled her around and hid the both of them behind a concrete wall near the back of the room.

"Shhh…"

Aiden put his finger up to his mouth, and Ashley nodded, keeping her mouth tightly sealed. Less than a minute later, the door that Aiden had entered through slammed open to reveal none other than Theodahm and Adamin Cauper.

"Adamin, prepare the syringe, she's crashing!"

Adamin nodded and quickly sprang into action, filling up the syringe with a noxious looking green liquid.

"Do it now!"

He stepped closer, aiming the syringe and quickly sunk it into her neck, but before he could pump the liquid into her blood he noticed something strange.

"Father!"

Adamin spun around to face his father.

"What is it now you insolent cretin?"

"It's Ashley. She's gone!"

Aiden tightened his grip around his little sisters shoulders, placing himself in front of her just in case something happened.

"Hit the alarm. She's not left the building, I can assure that."

Adamin stared after Theodahm.

"How would you know, father?"

Theodahm turned back to stare at his son, a small sliver of disgust showing in his eyes, and his voice not betraying his sarcasm that he aimed so heatedly at his own son.

"Because," Theodahm jabbed a finger in the direction of the other body. "She wouldn't dare leave without Spencer. Finish your job here, and meet me in the atrium. We must form a search with the Redgard."

Ashley and Aiden watched as Theodahm left the room. A few seconds after the door closed, Adamin walked slowly over to the twitching body, placing his hand upon the syringe that was currently sticking out of her neck.

"This won't kill you," he said as he started to push the liquid in. "No it won't kill you…yet."

Ashley's eyes turned coal black, and Aiden knew that he had no way of stopping her, but he would save her if she needed him to. Ashley wasn't paying attention to her brother's movements as he slid out from in front of her and quietly snuck over to one of the metal carts and quickly ducked behind it.

Her black eyes never left her target, the syringe. She focused every ounce of energy she had left, careful to keep out of Aiden's way. She had just found her brother, she couldn't handle losing him again.

Adamin still had yet to see what Ashley was doing, and when he finally turned his head, hand still on the offending weapon in Spencer's neck, it was far too late for him to do anything other than grimace.

Then with a loud scream, Ashley unleashed whatever power she had stored.

And the room went black.

"He's dead. Adamin Cauper is dead."

My silence was interrupted by a voice.

"It's okay, I've got Ashley, you grab Spencer. We need to get the others before they find out what's happened."

I felt myself being lifted from a hot metal surface. Where was I now? Was that a mans voice just now?

"This way, quickly!"

It was. Who is he? I don't recognize it…

"I made sure to get the location of the other children before I found you."

That was a woman's voice. It sounded so familiar, but I couldn't match a face to it. We were running now, whoever we were. The woman that was carrying me held me tightly to her chest as if she were afraid that I would die.

Would I?

"I didn't think she'd go all out! She's totally spent right now, I don't think she's going to be conscious for a while…"

That man. He's talking about Ashley. He has to be, who else could he be referring to?

"She's still boiling hot, I need to find her a cool surface to lay on!"

We turned suddenly and my head lolled against the woman's shoulder. I felt her hair tickle my face, but I couldn't seem to move anything. I was feeling very light headed again, but I tried to stay conscious. I needed to know that they found my babies safely…

The woman stopped. Her movements frantic. What were we running from? Where was I?

Suddenly I was lying down again. This time, the metal surface was cold, making goose bumps appear on my arms.

I heard a light thud to my right, but I had no idea what was going on, and I was getting steadily frustrated with the whole situation.

Was it so hard to explain what was going on?

"Spencer…"

The woman, she was talking to me!

"Spencer, baby, wake up. Please? Just wake up!"

My eyes opened into slits, barely able to see anything but the woman standing above me.

She was tall and blonde, with a white lab coat on, and all at once I realized why her voice had sounded so familiar to me.

Why she had held me so tightly during our escape from the really hot room. And then I did something I haven't done in eleven years…

I spoke.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Don't Look

_**DISCLAIMER! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Eleven: Don't Look Into Their Eyes**_

"Mom?"

I looked up in time to see the man with a look of pure shock etched on his young face. He also looked familiar, but I couldn't place it. I turned my attention back to my mother, who was still staring intently at my mouth.

"Say that again, Spencer. Say it one more time…"

I looked at her in confusion, and attempted to vocalize my thoughts once more.

"Mom? Is it really you?"

She threw herself at me and hugged me so tightly that I heard the air escape from my lungs.

"Paula, let your girl breathe."

She loosened her grip slightly, then let go to look me in the face. She looked just the way she did in my dreams. It didn't look like anything had changed, but when I looked closer I could see the lines of sorrow on her face and the lingering sadness in her eyes.

Though, it looked as if she would burst with the joy that was overshadowing all other emotions on her face.

"Spencer! You remember me?"

I nodded. I was still in major shock at the voice that had come out of my mouth. I hadn't heard that voice since I was eight years old. Not since the day I was taken to the Compound.

The first day I was processed into the Compound, they decided I was a good candidate for an experimental surgery, which was supposed to enhance the sonic wavelengths in the human voice.

Not sure of the mechanics of the surgery, they performed it on me two hours later. Three days later, they were disappointed to find that they had not in fact been successful, and punished _me_ for _their_ failure.

Knowing that I had an affinity for telekinesis and ESP, they trained me to speak using my brain to convey what I wanted to say into my listeners head. It was one thing that proved to be very useful throughout the rest of my life.

But I wondered, now that my voice seemed to come back, did that mean I lost my affinity?

I slowly tried to sit myself up, my mother saw what I was trying to do and lifted me gently forward by gripping my elbow so that I could sit up without causing anymore pain to my slightly sore body.

After a minute or two, I stood myself up while waving off my mother who immediately ran to catch me if I fell. I was feeling stronger by the minute, though, and I didn't need her assistance at the moment.

Looking to my right, I gasped. Ashley lay there, completely unconscious. Her normally brown hair was jet black, and her skin a shade darker than it normally was. Somehow, I knew that if we looked at her eyes, they would be the same shade as her hair.

Normally when Ashley passes out, it doesn't last long and we were never really sure why.

The man noticed I was staring at Ashley and promptly walked around her table to talk to me.

"Spencer? My name is Aiden Davies. I'm Ashley's older brother."

My eyes widened…that's why he looked familiar! When we were 'living' in the Compound, Ashley had snuck a picture away from her belongings when she was admitted.

It was only half a picture, but in that picture was this man, Aiden and another man. Ashley always said it was her father, that other man.

"Ashley should wake soon. Her corefire, the energy that rests in her bloodstream and gives her these abilities was found to have some significant healing properties. I have a feeling that's why you can suddenly speak again."

Staring at him for a moment, I processed what he had just told me. Ashley's outburst back there had healed my damaged vocal chords?

"How do you know so much about us? And how did Ashley heal me?"

Aiden walked back around to Ashley's table, grabbing up her hand in his and sat down on one of the chairs behind him. Then he turned his attention back to me, hopefully to answer some of my questions.

"My sister, Ashley Christine Davies, was kidnapped at the age of nine. I remember because I was twelve when it happened. I remember it like it was yesterday. Ashley had set the gymnasium at her school on fire because a girl had thrown a volleyball at her head. This was obviously before she had had any kind of control over her powers."

He paused for a moment, and I saw him squeeze Ashley's hand lightly before continuing on with his story.

"I had come home that day to find my father in hysterics, yelling that his baby girl had been stolen. That Ashley had been kidnapped. My heart dropped to my feet, and I felt empty. Ever since our mom had passed away from cancer years before, we got so close to one another. She wasn't just my sister, she was my best friend."

I could tell this was getting hard for him. A single tear escaped his lashes and drifted down his face. He ignored it and continued on.

"The years after that, I dedicated myself to finding a way to get her back. I threw myself into school hoping that it would somehow bring me closer to finding out what happened to her. Then one day, I overheard two of my classmates talking about some place they had learned of called the Compound, saying it was a place for freaks. They had overheard a rumor that one of the kids had set fire to a wing of the building."

I smiled. I remembered that day. This is all you need to know about what happened that day: Adamin's Idiocy + Ashley's Rage = Boom. This was very early on when she had only just arrived.

"Using that bit of information, I prayed that it was her and I decided to major in Biology and Anatomy at the University. I graduated valedictorian of my class. After the ceremony I was approached by men in black suits and they asked me whether I wanted a once in a lifetime opportunity. They explained what they did here, and I was disgusted, but I hid it so that I would have the chance to find her.

"When I got here, I met Paula. She let me know that she was also searching for somebody very dear to her. We confided any information that we could gather on you guys to each other. When they told us that you guys had tried to escape and that they had you in the Sedation Room, we knew it was time to move. And now here we are."

He smiled a sad smile. I could tell he was more than happy to have his little sister back, but we were all still stuck in this horrible place.

"How am I speaking now? You still haven't explained how Ashley did it…"

Aiden looked up from Ashley's hand.

"As I said before, Ashley's corefire has some significant healing properties. I read the test files they kept on you guys. Unfortunately, the only way for her healing powers to successfully work is for her corefire, or energy, to be fully calibrated. Which she did just before she…exploded in that room."

I blanched. Did he just say that she exploded?

He noticed the look on my face, and quickly corrected his error.

"Not literally! No, she calibrated herself almost to her full extent, but she couldn't control it and her corefire let itself loose. That's why the room was so hot."

I turned to my mother, suddenly remembering what I had heard when I had finally grasped as consciousness.

"Is Adamin really dead?"

Her eyes widened for a split second and she slowly nodded her head to say yes. Suddenly I wasn't sure how to feel.

Adamin Cauper had always tried to separate me and Ashley ever since the day we met. And now we didn't have to worry about him ever interfering again, but I was worried what Ashley would think.

Would she even remember?

"Spencer…"

I focused my attention back towards Aiden, this time looking down at Ashley. I saw her fingers twitch slightly and her knees bend as if she were trying to say that she was really, really uncomfortable right now.

_**Spencer?**_

That wasn't Ashley that time. I looked to Aiden and Mom who both shook their heads. Then I realized where it was coming from and I quickly bolted out of the room. As I ran down the hallway, I heard my mother yelling behind me.

"Aiden, stay here with Ashley!"

I promptly stopped in front of a large metal door, with a lock that looked like it belonged on a bank vault door. My mother came up behind me and stared at the lock, and as if she suddenly remembered, she pulled a large key ring off of her belt and began to search for the correct key.

After what seemed like an eternity, she found the large silver key and inserted it into the lock, only to have it break in half as she turned it.

Grabbing my mother by her shoulder, I pulled her back and nodded toward the door, still feeling strange about speaking.

She nodded back at me and stepped a safe distance away, but not too far in case I needed her. So it seemed that I still had my ESP, lets see if my Telekinesis was still in tact.

Glaring at the lock, I used whatever strength I could without taxing myself. I listened as the lock clicked all of the tumblers into place. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, and quickly gripped the giant dial-like handle on the door. My mother placed her hands beside mine and we both pushed as hard as we could.

When the door finally swung open, the sight that greeted me made the fury inside of me build to enormity.

There, sitting painfully cramped in a large dog cage was Lily and Giz, sitting in another cage next to them was Daniel and Craig.

"SPENCER!"

They screamed, so happy to see me.

"Mom, that's them…let them out!"

She picked up a nearby fire extinguisher, to use to smash the padlock on front of the cage.

"NO!"

I screamed.

"Ashley."

My mother nodded. I know she had also read our files, so she understood my outburst right away. We couldn't exactly walk back to where Aiden and Ashley were, covered in extinguisher fluid.

I walked slowly toward the cages with fierce determination. My babies don't get locked up, never like this. Never any way.

As I neared the cages, I saw that all of them looked so drowsy, no doubt that they had been drugged. I shook my head in disgust, my rage against the Compound building, and used it to focus my energy on unlocking their doors.

I stared intently at the large padlock, focusing all I could.

_CLICK_

Yes! I quickly pulled off the padlocks and threw them carelessly behind me, hearing them clunk loudly to the floor. They flung open their doors, running into my arms and I couldn't hold it in anymore.

So I pulled them all close to me, hugging them tightly.

And I cried.

We ran back to the room we had left Aiden and Ashley in. It didn't look like she was unconscious anymore, just sleeping. Aiden said that her fever had finally calmed to her normal temperature and that her body was fully healed once more.

So I turned to take attendance and assess any injuries. When I knew I had everyone and that they were all fine, I hugged them fiercely to my body.

I heard a soft thud echo behind me, but I didn't turn to look. I heard Aiden talking softly and then a shuffling of footsteps. Soon, I could feel Ashley's arms encircling my neck, and the kids fit her perfectly into the circle we had made.

This was our family, now and forevermore.

And now our family included Mom and Aiden. Now it was time to get our revenge…

Because _no one_ tries to destroy _my_ family.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Episodes of Pain

_**DISCLAIMER! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**This chapter inspired by the song "The Shake (Awful Feeling)" by My American Heart. I suggest you go listen to it if you haven't heard it yet.**_

_**READ ON!**_

_**Chapter Twelve: Episodes Of Pain**_

My mom knew exactly where we could find Theodahm Cauper. He was scheduled to have a meeting with some associates in the central courtyard of the Compound.

We only had a half an hour to gather what we needed before the face-off.

We had left the room we had been sitting in, me leading the kids and my mother with Ash leaning against Aiden. I could tell she was trying so hard to stand up on her own, but we all knew it would be another few minutes before she felt good enough to stand on her own.

So until then, Aiden stuck faithfully at her side helping her when she needed it.

"Hold on, we're going to need a little help if we're taking on the creator of the Compound. He's not exactly defenseless."

Aiden had a valid point, and we all agreed so mom lead us all to a small room on the opposite end of the hall where we had been.

The room looked to be a storage room of some kind, the walls laden with random objects as well as discarded computers and file cabinets and things of that sort. Aiden set Ashley down in one of the many random chairs that also filled the room.

Mom went straight for the filing cabinets and began to search through their contents. Aiden was looking through the random stuff that cluttered the shelves around the back of the room, and I took to sifting through the stuff in the desk I was standing near.

As I was looking through the drawers, I peeked over to where the kids had huddled up between me and Ashley, as if they were afraid to get captured again if they strayed too far from us.

Lily was sitting in Craig's lap and Danny and Giz were sitting cross legged around them as if to make a sort of circle of protection.

I think they were more worried about her then the way they felt.

They were trying to be strong for us.

And that just fueled my fire even more.

I continued my inspection of the desk, finding some paperclips which I immediately shoved into my front pocket. Never know when they could come in handy. Then in the bottom drawer of the desk I found a box cutter. I pulled it out slowly, and hid it carefully inside my sock, covering it with my jeans.

Maybe that would come in handy later.

Shutting the drawer, I slid off the end of the desk and walked over to where my mother was crouched on the floor reading something intently.

"Mom? What did you find?"

I heard Ashley gasp behind me. I had forgotten she didn't know that I could speak again. I turned around to see that her eyes were watering and were the size of pancakes.

"Sp-Spencer?"

She said my name like it was a question, like she was testing me.

"How?"

I walked straight up to her and stood with my hands balanced on her hips and I looked her in the eyes, which were still jet black. I couldn't think of anything to say but one word.

"You."

Her eyes widened, if possible, even more and she flung her arms around my neck and hugged me to her so tight that I had to whisper that I couldn't breathe. She giggled and loosened her grip, but didn't release me.

"Explain later?"

I nodded into her neck. She leaned back, linking her hands behind my neck and placed a soft kiss on my lips. After our moment, I remembered that my mother had found something in the filing cabinets. I looked over my shoulder at her and repeated my question to her once more.

"Mom? What did you find?"

She was startled by my voice and fell backwards onto her butt. I walked over and helped her to stand, but she mostly leaned her weight on the filing cabinet because she was afraid that she might still hurt me. I'll admit, I was still sore, but I was feeling energetic and really pissed off.

"Look…"

She guided the papers underneath my nose and the first thing I saw was Giz's picture staring up at me. So I read the top of the page.

**Subject: GCR01237**

**Name: Gaaven Charles Recker**

**Age of Submission: 5**

**Current Age: 12**

**Sex: Male**

**Ethnicity: Hispanic**

**Specialty: Psychic Affinity: Time Manipulation**

And it went on to describe all events up to the time that they declared us as failures. My mother moved Giz's records out of my sight and replaced them with another.

And the face I saw…was my own.

**Subject: SMC01231**

**Name: Spencer Marie Carlin**

**Age of Submission: 8**

**Current Age: 19**

**Sex: Female**

**Ethnicity: Caucasian**

**Specialty: Psychic Affinity: Advanced Telekinesis/ESP**

Mom pulled out Ashley's records next…

**Subject: ACD01232**

**Name: Ashley Christine Davies**

**Age of Submission: 9**

**Current Age: 19**

**Sex: Female**

**Ethnicity: Caucasian**

**Specialty: Elemental Affinity: Fire**

Her records were followed by Danny, Craig, and Lily's…

**Subject: DBW01234**

**Name: Daniel Benjamin Whitebear**

**Age of Submission: 6**

**Current Age: 15**

**Sex: Male**

**Ethnicity: Native-American**

**Specialty: Elemental Affinity: Air**

**Subject: CHW1235**

**Name: Craig Henry Whitebear**

**Age of Submission: 6**

**Current Age: 15**

**Sex: Male**

**Ethnicity: Native-American**

**Specialty: Elemental Affinity: Thunder/Lightning**

**Subject: LIA01236**

**Name: Lily Isabella Angelo**

**Age of Submission: 5**

**Current Age: 13**

**Sex: Female**

**Ethnicity: Caucasian**

**Specialty: Elemental Affinity: Water**

As I read through all of the files, I noticed something similar that appeared in all of them.

A Home address.

Were they current? Did their families still live at these places? If they did at some point there is nothing to indicate whether they are still there or not. I wasn't sure if I should tell them what we found, or just keep it quiet until we figured out what I meant.

We both agreed just to keep this information to ourselves until we thought the time was right to tell them.

Plus I think a small part of me was afraid that once they found out about this, that they would want to leave to find them.

That they would leave me.

All of us had been our own little family since we were thrown together in group experimentation. I'm not sure if I could handle that…

Mom kept sifting through all of the papers that were inside the cabinet until she found a file that made her mouth fall open.

"What? What is it?"

She handed me the file, and I was sure my eyes were the size of dinner plates when I read the name…

**Subject: AGC01233**

**Name: Adamin Garik Cauper**

**Age of Submission: 8**

**Current Age: 18**

**Sex: Male**

**Ethnicity: African-American**

**Specialty: Psychic Affinity: Ability Assimilation/Advanced Telekinesis**

Behind the initial page in his report, another file seemed to be mixed in with Adamin's. I moved and sorted the papers to find another title paper.

For Theodahm Cauper!

**Title: Director of Facilities, The Compound (Location Undisclosed)**

**Name: Theodahm Ankal Cauper**

**Age: 36**

**Subject Number: TAC00001**

**Sex: Male**

**Ethnicity: African-American**

**Specialty: Psychic Affinity: Advanced Mind Control/Telekinesis**

Oh. My. God.

Theodahm was an Exper! He had powers of his own? How come we never knew that? Did Adamin know that his own father had similar abilities to his own? A thousand questions pounded their way through my head when I was done reading.

"Shit!"

Everybody whipped around to stare at me, my sudden outburst temporarily scaring them. My mother had her mouth covered with her hand and her face was stuck in a look of shock. Had she not known?

"Nobody knew. Look at how old these files are, they were dated to the day when they began The Compound. The paper is all yellowed and ripped. No wonder nobody knew anything about Theodahm…"

Ashley hobbled her way over to where we were standing by the cabinets.

"What are you guys talking about? And who are you?"

My mother shook Ashley's hand.

"Paula Carlin, Spencer's mother."

Hiding her shock well, Ashley nodded and smiled.

"And to answer your other question, it looks as if Theodahm has some tricks up his sleeve that no one seems to have known about."

Ashley looked temporarily confused and I heard Danny's voice from behind her.

"What does that mean exactly?"

I stood up, flipping the file around to show them the picture that was stapled inside.

"It means this won't be as easy as we thought. Theodahm Cauper has his own abilities, just like ours. It means that we need to be ready, to be prepared or we will die."

That was the most I had spoken all at once, and I could tell that my family was having a hard time digesting the fact that I could talk, but they'd have to get over it and let what I had just said soak in.

Once it did, I saw Lily make her way over to me.

"Then lets do this."

I couldn't help but crack a smile at her. She was being so brave, blunt albeit, but brave nonetheless. She held out her hand, palm down in front of me, and I slapped my hand on top of hers.

The others followed suit until only Mom and Aiden were left to slap in.

My mom looked over at me, tentative about this family moment, and Giz nodded at her. She smiled and placed her hand over Craig's, Aiden following suit.

"This is the end guys, and we have to give our all. Don't let him get to you, and remember that we always have been, and always will be…a family."

They all smiled at me, and we did our secret handshake one last time. We all pushed down and then flung our hands into the air.

This was it. We were going to face him.

Here we come, Theodahm.

You'd better be ready.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Let Go, Hold On

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**This chapter was inspired by the song "Simple Plea" by A Romance Thesis. The band doesn't exist anymore, but it doesn't make their music any less fantastic.**_

_**On with the program!**_

_**Chapter Thirteen: Let Go, Hold On**_

About twenty minutes later, we had ourselves situated around the central courtyard of the Compound, waiting for Theodahm to show.

According to my mother's intel, which she had gathered from some papers that Aiden had found in all of his shuffling, he was to arrive back here at the Compound in a short while.

We had all decided that it was best if Mom and Aiden stayed out of the way, because me and Ashley couldn't handle having to look after them as well.

So they were quietly hidden in a nearby room, armed with whatever they could find just in case something happened.

Me and Ashley were hiding behind a thick stone pillar that was the width of at least four of me. Needless to say there was plenty of room for the two of us to hide there.

Danny and Craig were across the courtyard behind a similar pillar, and Lily and Giz were situated in the bushes near the entrance. We were ready for him.

It was quiet for eight minutes. I know, because I got anxious and began counting.

Suddenly there was a loud noise like a door being slammed open. I decided this was a good time to test my ESP strength, if only to assure myself that I hadn't in fact lost my abilities.

_Guys, can you hear me?_

For a moment I got no response, then…

_**Aye Aye, Cap'n!**_

I quietly thanked whatever deity was up there that I had my powers still in tact, and despite our situation, I smiled to myself.

_Fight hard. Do the best you can, but if you're in any serious danger, I want you to run. Long and far, run away. I believe in you, but I can't lose you guys either. Got it?_

"Never."

Ashley turned to me as she whispered this.

"You will never lose me."

I brought my hand to my face to attempt to wipe away the tears that were quickly starting to fall. And in my head, my family answered my plea.

_**We're here till the finish Spencer. We **__**will**__** fight to the end.**_

I nodded to Ashley. She had heard it too apparently. So I hadn't lost my natural link with her either. This made me feel a bit better.

A loud voice erupted from where the door had been slammed open, and we all turned our attention back toward it.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Shit.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out about your 'escape'? I RUN THIS PLACE!" he laughed maliciously. "You can't hide from me, Expers."

I heard his boots stomp over to where I had heard Giz and Lily hiding. I wasn't going to let him do anything to them. In a split second decision, I nodded to Ashley and we both jumped out from behind our pillar to face him.

He heard our footsteps and spun around to see where we were.

"Ah. The Queen Defects. Come home to daddy, have we?"

I took a few steps toward him, ignoring Ashley's attempts to pull me back.

"Fuck. You."

Theodahm's dark green eyes widened for a split second before an evil grin overtook his face.

"Oh, really?"

He stared behind me for a moment, and before I realized what he was doing, I heard Ashley scream behind me. I turned to look, but I found I couldn't move my head.

I knew that he was doing it.

He was freezing her in place. Again.

I reached in my pocket for the paperclips, bending them until they were just straight pieces of metal in my hands, and then I threw them with all my might at Theodahm nailing him on the side of his thick neck.

Ashley glared at the clips until they began to drip down his shoulders and right onto his expensive looking suit.

He bellowed as he reached up to try pulling them out, and behind Theodahm, I saw Giz and Lily sneak out from behind their bush and Lily hand Giz a small piece of chocolate she must have found.

He ate it quickly and closed his eyes.

I began the count.

_Ten…_

I stood stock still and closed my own eyes, calibrating my powers to help him out.

_Nine…_

Focusing on Ashley's image in my head, I imagined breaking the hold that Theodahm had on her.

_Eight…_

I could feel my body grow warmer with every point of calibration I had already achieved. Not much longer now.

_Seven…_

_Six…_

_Five…_

My temperature exploded and I could feel Ashley's doing the same, her body heat so profound and so much hotter than what I had produced. I knew she was ready, and when the chance rose, we were going to take it…

_Four…_

_Three…_

I opened my eyes to see that Danny and Craig were joined by the hand and they were glowing a bright orange. Lily had reached hers as well, glowing a bright blue color. Giz was almost there!

_Two…_

In a split second, Theodahm realized what was happening, but it was far too late for him now.

_One…_

"NO!"

Three things happened at once. One, I had released Ashley from Theodahm's hold and jumped back to pull her to me, linking our hands together.

Two, Theodahm had lunged forward in an attempt to stop me only to land on the ground.

And Three, Danny and Craig had let loose their powers.

Together.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Run Baby, Run

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Fourteen: Run Baby, Run**_

I hear the thunder crack above us, and felt the extremely fast winds underneath the black clouds that had gathered. The orange aura that surrounded the boys made their eyes glow unnaturally bright.

They had their free hands aimed up at the slowly forming tornado, and I noticed that every time Craig blinked, the thunder roared.

Using this distraction to her benefit, Lily's aura of blue shifted and she threw her hands in the air, the aura shooting from them like a cannon. She was adding a torrential rain that she had aimed to hit only Theodahm, effectively soaking him to the bone.

Theodahm had not yet managed to gain purchase to push himself off of the now muddy ground. Instead he had shifted himself so that he was kneeling in front of me.

"You will NEVER WIN! I made you what you are!"

As I let my power ride through me, my purple aura mixed with Ashley's own red aura to create a powerful and frightening black aura around the both of us.

Ashley's now black hair flung around her head as she turned to me, her black eyes burning and I could feel my own blue eyes burning as well, and if we held it in any longer, we would surely implode.

After giving Ashley's hand a hard squeeze, she turned her attention back to Theodahm, focusing her attention on his soaking body.

I retreated into my mind, to gather what power I had not yet harnessed.

As I did so, I could feel the presence of someone else with me. I had expected this, but this presence didn't feel friendly.

"Bitch. I've got you now."

In my mind, I spun to find that Theodahm had asserted himself into my consciousness.

"You are the one who won't win, _Theo_."

I said his name like it was the most disgusting thing in the world. Which was highly believable at this point. His psychic entity stomped up to my own and leaned in towards her ear, his hand attaching itself around her neck.

At that moment, my own hand flew up to my neck, knowing that he was using our entity's to make me slowly kill myself from the inside out.

"Really? Because from this point of view," he leaned closer, pointing behind him, "it looks like I already have."

I heard a scream from behind him that made my heart turn cold. It sounded like Lily…

She spit in his face as hard as she could, my own hand still wrapped around my neck. I had to do this while I still could…

"Giz, NOW!"

My own eyes snapped open as I yelled this, shoving Theodahm's entity away from mine, and out of my consciousness.

I saw Giz leap forward with his yellow aura glowing as brightly as mine and Ashley's and place his hand on Theodahm's arm, at the same time I pulled out the box cutter and slashed open Theodahm's arm only to have him knock it out of my hand a second later, and that's when Giz made his move…

"Stop."

Giz said it loud enough for me to hear, and I watched as Theodahm's body froze in place. Giz moved his hand and quickly ran over to help Lily, who I noticed was laying on the ground and seemed to be unconscious.

I stared after Giz, who threw himself next to her, moving his hands to check her pulse to make sure she was okay.

I saw as he frantically flipped her over, screaming in her face.

No…no this can't be happening…

"NO! Lily, please, please wake up. Wake up little sister!"

I heard his desperate cries from where I was standing, and I could feel that Ashley's attention had also turned his way.

This couldn't be happening…

I felt the anger resonating from underneath my skin, mixing with Ashley's rage. We both turned our attention back to Theodahm, who was slowly coming out of Giz's influence.

I squeezed Ashley's hand hard again, and glared with all of my might at the abomination in front of me…

Giz was slowly rocking Lily's body in his arms, Danny and Craig had run out of energy themselves and managed to wobble over to where they were sitting.

They were all crying hysterically when they noticed that the atmosphere had changed.

It was extremely hot!

They all looked over to see that the black aura that was surrounding me and Ashley had grown to over fifty times its regular size, engulfing Theodahm in its doom.

My own ice blue eyes, and Ashley's jet black ones were solely focused on Theodahm.

Giz, Danny, and Craig all picked up Lily's limp body and hid pulled themselves closer to us, before they heard my warning to stay back.

But, if this was the end, then apparently we were all going to leave together…

_Stay back!_

I had warned them. I heard the door behind them slam open, but I didn't look to see what I already knew. My mother and Aiden were rushing over, but we had to do this before they made it. It was now or never.

_I love you, Ashley. _

Her hand tightened even more around my own.

_I love you, Spencer._

"AHHH!"

I heard me and Ashley scream at the same time, loudly letting loose all of the power we had gathered. This was going to be over soon.

My eyes snapped open to find that Ashley was still focused on Theodahm, her jet black hair still whipping around her head as did my own.

The scream ripped through me as I saw the fireball that was growing in the force field we had created.

It was getting bigger and bigger, and I felt that last point of calibration bubble up, ready to let loose.

The fireball had grown to an immense size and I could feel its intense heat, but it was not nearly as hot as Ashley's skin. She was ready too.

The ground trembled as the last scream I had ripped from my throat in time to match Ashley's.

Suddenly there was a burst of light and I flew backwards, my hand torn from Ashley's. I slammed into one of the stone pillars lined up behind me.

My mind swam for a moment before it went black…


	16. Chapter Fifteen: We're Unstoppable Now

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Chapter Fifteen: We're Unstoppable Now**_

Ashley's POV

I felt Spencer fly backwards from the release of the fireball and the explosion it caused in our confined space, but I had stayed firmly in place as I watched Theodahm rise from the middle of the flames.

"How? HOW COULD I LOSE?"

I stared at him for one moment before I answered in a tone of complete disgust.

"Because you never cared. You tore apart our families, and for what? Can you honestly believe that you were actually accomplishing anything in this prison?"

I stepped impossibly close to his revolting face as I finished my speech.

"You never did anything worthwhile. Your life was wasted on your dreams that turned into nightmares for everyone involved. You don't deserve to live."

He had the sudden audacity to spit in my face.

"I did EVERYTHING! You wouldn't have ANY of this without ME!" he growled.

I had enough of this nonsense. It was time to end this.

His eyes flew wide as I brought my hand up in front of him, and released the vastly large fireball just as I heard my brother scream from beside me.

"ASHLEY!"

And then it was all lost in a storm of black snow…

_**Moments Later…**_

Spencer's POV

"Ash?"

She whipped around and ran to me, and just as I had stood myself up, she threw her arms around my neck as I latched mine behind her back.

"We did it!"

I smiled into her neck as she yelled this with utter happiness.

It was finally over.

"I love you, more than anything on the earth."

I looked into her eyes.

"And I love you more than anything in the sky."

She kissed me, long and hard. We stood like that for a few moments before heard fast footfalls from behind me.

"Spencer!"

I turned to see my mother and Aiden running toward where me and Ashley were standing. My mother engulfed me in a hug so tight, I felt as if I couldn't breathe, but despite that, I didn't want her to ever let go.

I took the time and looked around briefly to take in the scene before me.

Black.

It was nothing but black in this space that used to be the atrium. We were all covered in what looked to be soot which seemed to be raining from the sky.

It took my brain a moment to catch up with the events that had transpired to make it look this way and I realized we really had won.

It was really, finally over.

"Lily?"

I asked, my voice still raspy from the screaming. My mother let go of me long enough to point to my right. I quickly looked in that direction and I watched in complete amazement as Lily sat up and stared at me, confused.

"What'd I miss?"

I laughed.

I laughed so hard I snorted.

I couldn't help it, and as the tears streamed down my face I kept laughing. My mom and Ashley helped me to walk over to her and I pulled Lily into my arms, hugging her tightly.

"Don't you ever do that again!"

She smiled up at me as she tightened her grip on me, burying her face in my shoulder.

"I promise."

I laughed again, and I was still crying when I heard a low groan from behind me. I turned us sideways so I could see where it was coming from.

I saw Ashley shake her head lightly as she sat up. I noticed that her hair was back to a deep brown, and her eyes were the dark brown they were supposed to be.

My girl was normal again! Or, you know, her version of normal anyway…

Lily let go of me and pushed me toward Ashley just as she was done hugging her brother.

Aiden hugged Ashley hard and then did the same thing to her that Lily did had just done to me.

We stared at each other for a moment before we ran full speed, slamming into each other with the strongest hug I have ever received.

"We're free."

She whispered this so low, I almost missed it. I looked behind her to see that Danny, Craig, Giz, and Lily were being checked over by Aiden and my mom.

I smiled to myself, wondering how I was so lucky to get such an amazing family.

"Yes. We are."

And from that moment, I knew that our lives were changed.

Forever.

**THE END**


	17. Epilogue: A Sense of Normalcy

_**DISCLAIMER**__**! I have never, nor will I ever own SoN (Though that would rock!) They belong to The N and Tom Lynch.**_

_**Epilogue: A Sense Of Normalcy**_

Hey, Spencer here.

I told you our story of how we freed ourselves, but you don't know about the parts that happened after that. So I figured I'd come back and give you a little insight to our lives after the disaster.

After we had all celebrated our victory, we looked around and realized that the majority of the Compound had been destroyed.

Guess we were more powerful than we thought. Ashley thinks it might've happened when she released my force field around the fireball.

Anyway, Theodahm Cauper was just a pile of ashes surrounded by a half decimated building.

And we just up and left.

We were questioned by the FBI, who were trying to build a case on Theodahm, but could never get enough evidence.

Our story was that Theodahm had tried to kill us (truth!), and we were trying to defend ourselves (truth!), and that the boiler rooms in the building had exploded and totally destroyed everything around it (what they don't know, won't hurt them).

They didn't ask how or why we survived.

I think they knew more about us then they were letting on.

We left the area and all of us ended up going to California, where Ashley had been kidnapped. It was then that we decided to tell everybody about the addresses that we had found.

My mother had slipped the papers in her pocket while we had all been fighting, thinking we would need them for later.

And then I met Glen.

Apparently he's my brother. He's a sweet guy and he looks just like me. My mom says we're twins, and couldn't argue, we looked a lot alike. The kids poured over our discovery, immersing themselves into trying to find their families.

And we eventually succeeded.

Daniel and Craig are back in Arizona living with their father, who is a Native American tribe chief, and their mother.

Lily had found her adoptive mother residing in Montana. She had not moved, in fear that one day Lily might come looking for her. She had been missing her for so long, needless to say she was grateful when we brought her back.

Giz's dad was ecstatic when his son walked through the door. Giz was shocked to find that his dad had been searching for him, considering the last thing he remembers was his dad being furious with him.

His father explained that he was mad, but that was long gone.

He had been missing his son for years.

My mom had been living in California after she had found Aiden was living their with his and Ashley's dad. Two weeks after we had left Giz at home in Oklahoma, she decided she was ready to go see her long lost father.

It was a happy reunion.

And then, I met my father.

He hugged me as hard as my mother had when she first found me. I cried into his shoulder, thinking that he had been dead all this time. He assured me that he was "very much alive, and missing his baby girl terribly".

I just cried harder.

Ashley's reunion was very similar.

It's been six months since that day we set ourselves free.

My family lives across the street from Ashley's. We go and visit them a lot.

Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention that Ashley and I got married. Right after my 20th birthday which was last month, two months after hers. We live in an apartment building just down the street from our parents and families.

Every month all of us come together, families and all. Me, Ashley, Lily, Giz, Danny, and Craig. We hang out for a whole weekend, everybody staying at mine or Ashley's parents place.

It's the most wonderful thing, to feel free and complete.

And I can't wait to see what our futures have in store.

Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for reading our story.

You have no idea what it means to know that someone else knows our history.

Our past.

Keep safe, live happily.

Much Love,

Spencer & Ashley Davies

Daniel & Craig Whitebear

Lily Angelo

Giz Recker

And all the family in between.


End file.
